In-floor cleaning systems now are common in the swimming pool industry. These systems typically consist of pop-up or retractable cleaning heads in the floor of the swimming pool. During times when no cleaning of the pool takes place, the heads are retracted into a retaining collar, and are substantially flush with the bottom of the pool. The heads are connected to a water supply piping system fed from the pool pump. When cleaning is desired, pressurized water from the pump causes the cleaning heads to extend or pop up from the flush position on the pool floor and to eject a stream of water across and substantially parallel with the pool bottom.
Swimming pool bottoms are not always level. Tradesmen apply the concrete with concrete pumping machines; and the tradesmen try to make the bottoms as level as possible; but this is next to impossible. The end result of most swimming pool construction is that the bottoms are not flat and level. In addition, most swimming pools are constructed with rounded radii corners to add strength to the structure and to avoid 90.degree. angles at the transition between the floor and the wall of the pool. This transition point normally is a two foot to five foot radius. When cleaning heads are installed in the pool, it is extremely important that the cleaning nozzles eject water evenly across the floor of the pool and parallel with the floor.
During construction, the piping system is installed after excavation and prior to the placement of the concrete. The pipes for the cleaning heads are stubbed up from the buried supply pipes of the system to accommodate the future cleaning heads. The angle of the stubbed up pipe must be perpendicular to the final shell construction angle of the pool bottom and sides. It is nearly impossible for a plumbing installer to determine the exact finish angle at this stage of construction. The installer can only use his best judgement as to where or what angle the concrete floor will be. The plumbing installer tries to set the stub-up to the projected angle. Most of the time, however, the angle of the stub-up pipe, into which the retractable cleaning head is to be installed, is not perpendicular to the floor. This causes the jet of water from the pop-up cleaning head to project above the floor on one side of the head revolution, and to shoot downward into the floor close to the pipe on the other side of the revolution. Both of these situations cause the cleaning head to miss spots of dirt on the floor and/or wall surfaces.
In extreme cases, when the angles of the stub-up pipes deviate considerably from being perpendicular with the bottom of the pool shell, they must be jackhammered out, and the pipe heated to change the stub-up angle to be perpendicular to the floor. This is a costly and time consuming repair. In addition, this type of repair affects the strength of the pool when the floor is patched around the jackhammered out and readjusted pipe. On the other hand, if the angle is not corrected, the system does not clean as represented to the pool buyer.
It is desirable to provide a new, adjustable fitting or mounting collar that houses the pop-up cleaning head, and which compensates for incorrect stub-up angles of the supply pipe to allow the finally installed retractable cleaning head to be exactly perpendicular to the floor around the stubbed-up pipe.